How I spent my weekend - a three part essay

Kyler · 07-21-2010, 08:09 PM

Friday (Part 1)

Initially, the plan was to head up to the high peaks early Friday morning and spend the remainder of the day hiking. Early in the week the forecast was not looking great for Friday so we decided to hike in Friday afternoon and set up camp. One of my buddies was going to hike in from the Loj and I was going to hike in from Upper Works and we would meet at the Colden Dam at 5PM.

On the drive up it rained hard. Cars were pulled off to the side of the road and those still on the road were moving slow. The decision to not hike on Friday was a good one. I was running a little late and left Upper Works at 4. The odds of getting to Colden Dam in an hour weren't in my favor, but I was going to try to keep a fast pace. The trail was esspecially muddy from the day's rain, but went by fairly quickly. I passed a few groups and got to the dam around 5:45.

My buddy had scoped out a few lean-tos while he waited for me and he suggested that we head towards the Flowed Lands. So off we went and stopped at the new-ish lean-to near Herbert Brook. There were two guys set up in there, but there was plenty of room for us. We hung out on Friday night and chatted with our new friends. The sunset on Friday lit up the clouds over the Flowed Lands. I actually sat there watching for a while before it hit me to grab the camera.

We went to sleep at dusk in anticipation of Saturday's climbs.

Kyler · 07-21-2010, 09:14 PM

Saturday (Part 2)

We got up Saturday morning, ate, filled water bottles and took off for Redfield. It was smooth sailing to Uphill lean-to
and onto the herd path. Not too far down the herd path, there is a cairn with a piece of metal on top. Drawn on the metal,
is a face (maybe a wolf or an alien) with an arrow pointing towards Redfield. I don't know what to make of this, but we
continue on. The herd path was in decently good shape and went by pretty quickly. When we reached the summit, everything
was clouded in. We sat and waited for a while and the clouds finally opened up giving us decent views. We stayed a while
longer and then headed down.

At this point, my (lack of) research caused us to go back out to the trail and look for the herd path to Cliff. After messing
around for too long we finally decided to go back to the cairn on the Redfield herd path. Upon closer inspection, in addition
to the face drawn on the metal, someone had also written Redfield and Cliff with the appropriate arrows. The Redfield and Cliff
portions were written in red marker, which doesn't stand out on rusted metal. Oh well. We headed for Cliff.

The Cliff herd path was really wet and really muddy. My main focus was keeping my sock as mud free as possible. It wasn't
long before we got to the climbing sections and started up. The scrambles aren't bad ans we were soon making our way along
the ridge. Once we got to the summit, we had better conditions for the scenery than we had on Redfield. We again stayed for
a while, and then started the trip back to the Flowed Lands.

We made one quick stop at Colden Dam because the view was so nice.

We got to the lean-to in the middle of the afternoon, and my buddy packed up to head for the Loj and then home. I refilled
my water bottles and took off for Marshall. There were a few groups coming down from Marshall, and I think I passed Bobs XJ.
I wasn't 100% sure, as the last time I saw Bob was in January, and things are different when you are bundled up for the winter.
The Herbert Brook herd path was beat up, muddy, and hard to follow in places, but I eventually made it to the top. I couldn't
find a view of Colden, but I followed a herd path to the South which has an excellent view.

Before too long I headed down and back to the lean-to. After dinner, one of the rangers stopped by and shared some bear
stories with us. Although I didn't do a lot of mileage, Saturday felt tougher than it should have, so I was contemplating
my plans for Sunday.

Kyler · 07-21-2010, 09:28 PM

Sunday (Part 3)

I had only been up Colden once, and it was on a day with no view. We had gone up from Lake Colden and down to
Lake Arnold. We never stopped at the summit, we just keep going. So I decided to take a quick trip up Colden
on Sunday morning.

The hike from the lean-to to the start of the trail up Colden was quick, as was the first half mile of the Colden
trail. I had forgotten that the remainder of the trail was all exposed rock, which had plenty of water running
over it. Despite being a challenge, at least it wasn't the mud that I had been dealing with all weekend. The
climb wasn't that bad and I was soon on the summit. The clouds were moving in and out pretty quikly, so the views
were constantly changing.

After hanging out for a while, I headed back down to the lean-to. I packed up my stuff and began the hike out to
Upper Works. Back through the mud, wishing that I could stay longer.

More Pictures

Cyar88 · 07-21-2010, 09:42 PM

Incredible pictures! I captured some of those amazing colors in the sky on Friday on my way up 87 for some hiking this weekend. What time were you at Colden Dam on Saturday? My crew and I were there from around 3-4:30.

Oh and thank you for the trial and error at Redfield and Cliff, I will remember this when I get there myself.

Kyler · 07-21-2010, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyar88

Incredible pictures! I captured some of those amazing colors in the sky on Friday on my way up 87 for some hiking this weekend. What time were you at Colden Dam on Saturday? My crew and I were there from around 3-4:30.

Thanks. We were at the dam sometime between 2:30 and 3, so we just missed each other. There wasn't anyone around when we went through.

We should do a Clarkson (alumni and student) hikers gathering. It seems like there are a bunch of us on here. Surely we can come up with something to out-do the SLU peak weekend.

Cyar88 · 07-22-2010, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyler

We should do a Clarkson (alumni and student) hikers gathering. It seems like there are a bunch of us on here. Surely we can come up with something to out-do the SLU peak weekend.

I think that is a great idea! I didn't realize there were so many other Clarkson reps on this site (I guess we keep a low profile). We should set it up before it starts to get colder. What year/ major were you?

Kyler · 07-22-2010, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyar88

I think that is a great idea! I didn't realize there were so many other Clarkson reps on this site (I guess we keep a low profile). We should set it up before it starts to get colder. What year/ major were you?

'99 and '01, MIS for both

bryanricky · 07-23-2010, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyar88

I think that is a great idea! I didn't realize there were so many other Clarkson reps on this site (I guess we keep a low profile). We should set it up before it starts to get colder. What year/ major were you?

2004 Chem E here

bryanricky · 07-23-2010, 12:33 PM

Kyler,
The pictures are great. I've seen your previous trip reports and you have a knack for capturing great photos. I look forward to the next report.

Mark Schaefer · 07-23-2010, 01:00 PM

Real nice photos; material for the calendar contest. The Flowed Lands sunset with crescent moon is a classic.

07-21-2010, 08:09 PM	#1
Kyler Member of Parliament Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Syracuse Posts: 696	How I spent my weekend - a three part essay Friday (Part 1) Initially, the plan was to head up to the high peaks early Friday morning and spend the remainder of the day hiking. Early in the week the forecast was not looking great for Friday so we decided to hike in Friday afternoon and set up camp. One of my buddies was going to hike in from the Loj and I was going to hike in from Upper Works and we would meet at the Colden Dam at 5PM. On the drive up it rained hard. Cars were pulled off to the side of the road and those still on the road were moving slow. The decision to not hike on Friday was a good one. I was running a little late and left Upper Works at 4. The odds of getting to Colden Dam in an hour weren't in my favor, but I was going to try to keep a fast pace. The trail was esspecially muddy from the day's rain, but went by fairly quickly. I passed a few groups and got to the dam around 5:45. My buddy had scoped out a few lean-tos while he waited for me and he suggested that we head towards the Flowed Lands. So off we went and stopped at the new-ish lean-to near Herbert Brook. There were two guys set up in there, but there was plenty of room for us. We hung out on Friday night and chatted with our new friends. The sunset on Friday lit up the clouds over the Flowed Lands. I actually sat there watching for a while before it hit me to grab the camera. We went to sleep at dusk in anticipation of Saturday's climbs. __________________ ADKHP Wiki

07-21-2010, 09:14 PM	#2
Kyler Member of Parliament Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Syracuse Posts: 696	Saturday (Part 2) We got up Saturday morning, ate, filled water bottles and took off for Redfield. It was smooth sailing to Uphill lean-to and onto the herd path. Not too far down the herd path, there is a cairn with a piece of metal on top. Drawn on the metal, is a face (maybe a wolf or an alien) with an arrow pointing towards Redfield. I don't know what to make of this, but we continue on. The herd path was in decently good shape and went by pretty quickly. When we reached the summit, everything was clouded in. We sat and waited for a while and the clouds finally opened up giving us decent views. We stayed a while longer and then headed down. At this point, my (lack of) research caused us to go back out to the trail and look for the herd path to Cliff. After messing around for too long we finally decided to go back to the cairn on the Redfield herd path. Upon closer inspection, in addition to the face drawn on the metal, someone had also written Redfield and Cliff with the appropriate arrows. The Redfield and Cliff portions were written in red marker, which doesn't stand out on rusted metal. Oh well. We headed for Cliff. The Cliff herd path was really wet and really muddy. My main focus was keeping my sock as mud free as possible. It wasn't long before we got to the climbing sections and started up. The scrambles aren't bad ans we were soon making our way along the ridge. Once we got to the summit, we had better conditions for the scenery than we had on Redfield. We again stayed for a while, and then started the trip back to the Flowed Lands. We made one quick stop at Colden Dam because the view was so nice. We got to the lean-to in the middle of the afternoon, and my buddy packed up to head for the Loj and then home. I refilled my water bottles and took off for Marshall. There were a few groups coming down from Marshall, and I think I passed Bobs XJ. I wasn't 100% sure, as the last time I saw Bob was in January, and things are different when you are bundled up for the winter. The Herbert Brook herd path was beat up, muddy, and hard to follow in places, but I eventually made it to the top. I couldn't find a view of Colden, but I followed a herd path to the South which has an excellent view. Before too long I headed down and back to the lean-to. After dinner, one of the rangers stopped by and shared some bear stories with us. Although I didn't do a lot of mileage, Saturday felt tougher than it should have, so I was contemplating my plans for Sunday. __________________ ADKHP Wiki

07-21-2010, 09:28 PM	#3
Kyler Member of Parliament Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Syracuse Posts: 696	Sunday (Part 3) I had only been up Colden once, and it was on a day with no view. We had gone up from Lake Colden and down to Lake Arnold. We never stopped at the summit, we just keep going. So I decided to take a quick trip up Colden on Sunday morning. The hike from the lean-to to the start of the trail up Colden was quick, as was the first half mile of the Colden trail. I had forgotten that the remainder of the trail was all exposed rock, which had plenty of water running over it. Despite being a challenge, at least it wasn't the mud that I had been dealing with all weekend. The climb wasn't that bad and I was soon on the summit. The clouds were moving in and out pretty quikly, so the views were constantly changing. After hanging out for a while, I headed back down to the lean-to. I packed up my stuff and began the hike out to Upper Works. Back through the mud, wishing that I could stay longer. More Pictures __________________ ADKHP Wiki

07-23-2010, 01:00 PM	#10
Mark Schaefer Commander Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Lake Katrine, NY, just inside the Catskill Blue Line Posts: 1,282	Real nice photos; material for the calendar contest. The Flowed Lands sunset with crescent moon is a classic. __________________ “Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right.” Henry Ford My Photos: http://community.webshots.com/user/CatskillHiker

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07-21-2010, 09:42 PM	#4
Cyar88 Trapped in New Jersey Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: TX, NJ, NY Posts: 6	Incredible pictures! I captured some of those amazing colors in the sky on Friday on my way up 87 for some hiking this weekend. What time were you at Colden Dam on Saturday? My crew and I were there from around 3-4:30. Oh and thank you for the trial and error at Redfield and Cliff, I will remember this when I get there myself.

07-23-2010, 12:33 PM	#9
bryanricky Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: North Tonawanda, NY Posts: 71	Kyler, The pictures are great. I've seen your previous trip reports and you have a knack for capturing great photos. I look forward to the next report.

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